In U.S. Pat. No. 6,220,611, granted Apr. 24, 2001, the applicant, Shapiro, disclosed unique methods relating to pivoting and stowable wheel axle assemblies for wagons and carts, and related innovations. Improvements were further disclosed in the continuation-in-part U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/604,769, above referenced. This application provides further refinements and enhancements to compact carrier and wagon devices, which may be adapted on wheeled carts as well. Many of the enhancements here relate to wagons or carts with a base incorporating formed stub walls, with pivoting or stowable wheels and handles.
It is one object of this invention to provide for innovations relating to methods to stow wheels and handles on wagons and carts, and the means by which these wheels and handles may be mounted to such wagons and carts in simple and convenient fashion.
It is another object of the invention to provide for convenient nesting and stowing of cart or wagon devices whereby they may be nested in unique and convenient fashion.
It is another object of the invention to provide for several unique embodiments of stub wall access panels which have features relating to the stowable handle, which access panels have various innovative features, including retention protrusions to hold a stowable handle in various positions, whether intermediate or stowed positions. Also, the access panel may pivot, or may slide upward or laterally.
It is another object of the invention to provide for unique stowable couplers whereby two or more wagons may be coupled and a user may pull the coupled devices with a single handle. Also one of the couplers may double as a wall hook receiving device.
It is another object of the invention to provide for unique methods to provide that a wagon or cart handle may be retained at one or more intermediate positions and very simply rotated, moved, or pressed through retention protrusions so that the same handle may stow within the compact wagon device.
It is another object of the invention to provide that a handle for a wagon or a cart device may be mounted just forward of the stub wall profile of said device, on integrated protrusions which will serve to secure the handle with a through bolt, or alternatively, said handle may be mounted flush with the profile or perimeter of the stub wall of the wagon or cart device, or in another alternative embodiment, may be secured and mounted just inside the handle side end wall of said device.
Another object of the invention provides for a wheeled cart or wheelbarrow, with fixed, or one or more pivoting or stowable wheel axles, as well as a U-shaped handle which is slidably disposed within a cavity formed along the cart stub wall, and the user may slide the handle out to an operative, latched position, and said cart may include underside movable or pivoting, stowable supports. Unique handle latching methods are disclosed.
Another object of the invention provides for a unique, but simple nut or end cap washer or fastener which rotates in a cavity, or depending on both the cavity shape and the nut or cap shape, combine to stop or limit axial rotation of the stowable wheel's axle rod.
Another object of the invention provides for a “sleeve” accessory which may be resiliently and selectively attached to recesses or protrusions formed on the face of the device stub wall, which sleeve may hold beverage containers, umbrellas, fishing rods, or various implements.
These and other improvements may become apparent by virtue of descriptions contained herein.